Leading by example? Parliament website shows Dewan Speaker appointed his son as special functions officer

By SINAR DAILY REPORTER

02 Feb 2023 09:37am

Former Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul was elected as the new Speaker of Dewan Rakyat at the First Meeting of the First Session of the 15th Parliament in Parliament House on 19th Dec 2022 - BERNAMA

SHAH ALAM - The dust has yet to settle on the wildfire surrounding Nurul Izzah Anwar's appointment as senior advisor to her Prime Minister father, when Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul's appointment of his son as special tasks officer has now added to the debate over nepotism in public office.

Checks on the Parliament portal today confirmed messages being spread on Whatsapp about Johari's appointment of his son Muhammad Iqbal Johari as special tasks officer 1 to the Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat.

The appointment was said to have been made days after Johari's assumption of his duties as Speaker on the 19th of December last year but had gone under the radar until now, when questions of alleged nepotism in high public office rages on.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had proposed for Johari - who is the former three-term Sungai Petani MP - as the government’s candidate for the Speaker’s post and his motion was seconded by his deputy Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He was appointed as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker after 147 Members of Parliament (MP) voted in favour of him via a ballot.

Johari won the Sungai Petani seat in 2008 and defended it twice successfully, but he did not run in the 15th General Election.

Sinar Daily is in the process of contacting Johari for his comments.